AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My pleasure.”
Bailey beamed, pressing her palms to her cheeks. She turned to walk away, bumped into the person standing behind her, looked around as if hoping no one was watching her, and hurried back to her seat.
Graham shot him a knowing look before announcing, “We have time for one last question. Make it a good one.”
“Hi, Prince Jameson. My name is Samreen.” The young woman wearing a blue hijab bit her lip and grabbed the microphone. “Are you and Duchess getting married?”
Whistles and catcalls filled the auditorium.
Heat singed the tips of Jameson’s ears and the back of his neck. He should probably get used to that question being thrown at him. The public was still fascinated with them as a couple and it’s not as if marrying Dani wasn’t something he’d already been considering. Though their time together had been brief, Jameson knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
And therein lay the problem. What would his life entail?
If he were just a professor at uni, it would be easy. But he was a member of the British royal family. And a lot came with marrying into the Company. Since the last time he’d spoken to the queen he’d disobeyed a direct order from her, he wasn’t even sure what his own position in the family was. He was aware Dani thought him naive for thinking he could go back to lecturing, but he had to believe that was a possibility. He’d meant what he’d told her at the premiere. If he was destined to live his life as a working royal, he couldn’t commit to a future with Dani until he’d worked out how to keep her safe. His mother had been born into the British aristocracy. She’d grown up seeing and understanding the cost. And in the end, it hadn’t been enough to protect her.
Graham narrowed his eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
At least he had guidance on how to handle these questions going forward, thanks to his discussion with Dani. He could feel the subtle anticipation in the room, as if everyone were holding their breath waiting for an answer.
One, he knew, that wouldn’t satisfy them.
But he couldn’t let the event end on a negative note.
“Why?” he asked, curving his lips in the smile that had unwittingly caused the tabloids to resuscitate his father’s unwelcome moniker, Sexy Wexy, a reference to his title as the Duke of Wessex. “I assume it’s not because you’re making me a better offer?”
Samreen gasped, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. Her cheekbones rounded and flushed becomingly as the room erupted in applause and laughter.
The perfect time to make your escape.
A chorus of yeses pelted the stage. Jameson stood and gestured for Graham, who seemed confused as to how things had gotten so out of his control, to join him.
Welcome to my life.
“Thanks again for having me,” he said, as they strode off the stage.
“That was wonderful, Your Royal Highness.”
“Jameson. Please,” he said.
“Oh no. I may have been over here for close to five years but I’m still a proud Brit with tea flowing through my veins.”
“Understood,” Jameson said, shaking the other man’s hand.
“Tell Rhys the next pint is on me when I see him, yeah?”
Jameson smiled. “Will do.”
“Sir?” Graham hesitated before continuing. “I’m not a big gossip hound but in light of your presence here and your current situation, should you find yourself wanting employment in the States, there’s a position here for you. My dean made me promise to mention it, although I told him it wasn’t necessary...”
Jameson nodded then strolled toward his protection detail waiting just out of sight.
Lecturing here, at Berkeley? He already had a job, but would he be willing to uproot his entire life and relocate to be with Dani? Was that even a viable possibility?
“We’re going out the back, but there’s still press,” Roy informed him.
Exiting the building, he ignored the roar of clicks and the calls of “Prince Jameson!” “Jameson!” “Over here, Prince Jameson!” and practically dove into the waiting large black SUV. Only as they were making their way off campus did his breathing return to normal.
Despite the planning and logistics involved in making this speaking engagement happen, he was happy he’d done it. In many ways the university reminded him of Birmingham and the visit reinforced that while earlier in his career, he might have sought out the ivory tower to get as far away from royal life as he could, it now was a place he genuinely loved. Where he thrived. Where he felt he made a difference.
